Dragon Age: Origins 'Our Chosen Hearts'
by fluffylovey
Summary: Cavanna Cousland's entire family have been murdered, with only her brother missing. But her native land of Ferelden is facing a blight, and she must sacrafice everything to save the land, maybe even her own life...  rated M for future adult scenes
1. Chapter 1  The Sunset

**Our Chosen Hearts**

_Chapter 1_

Unremarkable. That was the way she would describe the afternoon. Of course, not ugly, or dull, or indeed boring, but for her, unremarkable. The slim girl dressed in light, standard iron armour, leant on the edge of the hole in the castle's wall, somewhere near the ground level of the establishment. Her shoulder length dusty blonde hair was gently flowing over her hand and between her fingers as she gazed out over her favourite view.

The Cousland estate was a grand one, but for all its beauty, she found herself always coming here every day, even if it was for a few mere minutes. As far back as she could remember, probably back to when she was 3 or 4 years old, she had come to this hole for its view. Her mother had shown her the hole at first, holding her young body at her chest height so she could see out clearly to the picture of beauty. It was the sunset, red and yellow splashed with pink, kissing the edges of the fields with tongues of colour, shinning all over the lands of Ferelden, glorifying the country of which she was native, and lucky enough to be born into as a noble.

The picture stuck in the young girl's mind, imprinting a need to see it again. Although she was too young to be able to see over the edge without a stand, she hadn't let it deter her. Dragging one of her toy wagons to the hole all the way from her bedroom across the other side of the castle; she had placed it carefully on its side as to not roll away, and had used it as her vantage point to see the sunset once more, as stunning and glorious as ever before.

Her father had seen the incident, and knew that his pup would grow to be resourceful and smart, but he wasn't to predict the sharp and witty tongue to go with it. Knowing this, he had made it plain that she would train as a knight alongside the male warriors, as she was just as good as them, what she lacked in strength so far she could make up with in skill. One sacrifice to this training for the girl was to have her long silken hair cut right off, so it only just came past the tops of her ears. She had hated that, but said nothing, baring the sneers and remarks about her and the training from male knights with either sharp rams to the crotch with her shield, or a witty remark that would send them reeling until she had worked her way to becoming a respected and skilled warrior.

And now, after 2 years of training, here she was. Aged now 21, her face made matured to a pretty oval, with dark-brown, almost black eyes set the right amount apart. Her nose stayed rather cutesy and small, but her mouth was one of a woman, and a woman she was. Her name was Cavanna Cousland.

Cavanna loved coming here after training; it was just so relaxing to stand still. Still, and allow herself to take in the rich view while it lasted, and her weary body could rest after a full day of training; slamming barrels to the floor with her shield, stabbing flour sacks with her longsword and firing arrows at straw targets. She found the strain of archery often too much to enjoy it, and would never attempt a battlefield with a bow and arrow in hand. She would feel exposed and un-guarded, nothing without her shield.

She cupped her chin in one hand, her elbow against the cold stone, and allowed the other to lean out the hole, feeling strangely naked after spending the day in nasty leather gloves. The training gloves were often rejects or thrown down ones from knights passed on, so they were either faulty or horribly uncomfortable, but good enough for training. Her father had promised her a pair of her own when she completed her training soon; a pair of beautiful studded leather gloves, inscribed with her name on the inside part of the sleeve.

She sighed wistfully, imagining wearing gloves that fitted. She wanted those gloves more than the armour, despite it being as uncomfortable and ill-fitting as her current gloves. Studded leather sounded like a luxury to her, even though it was basic armour to most. Boots she cared not about, what didn't fit could be fixed with socks, and anyway, no sane enemy would ever go for a target's feet; unless they were an enraged rat.

Cavanna had been thankful at least for her hair growing back to some length over the last 2 years, despite regular trimmings. She hoped her father wouldn't insist on hacking it all off again before she finished training. She was just pondering this thought while lazily watching a pigeon preening on a tree, when an elven servant approached her from behind.

"Lady Cavanna?" The ginger haired elf said carefully, not wishing of her higher person to become startled at her words, "There are visitors to the castle. Your father sends for you," she said, her voice thick with an Orlisian accent carried by most of the elven servants at the castle.

"Visitors?" Cavanna said, mildly confused. She turned to look at the elf properly. She believed in treating these elves like the people they were, not just creatures to have as slaves. "Mother didn't say anything of visitors to me. It wouldn't happen to be shifty looking lords or slimy nobles again would it? I'm sick of father trying to pair me off with noble snobs just because Fergus is settled now."

"No my lady" the ginger elf said, clasping her hands tight enough to cause her knuckles to go white "It is Arl Howe, and one of those, Grey Wardens I believe," The poor servant seemed terrified, more so than normal, and Cavanna suspected it was down to the fierce looking armour and sword that she was not normally seen wearing by workers.

"Arl Howe?" Cavanna said more to herself than the servant "What does he want here? And a Grey Warden? It can't be an actual Grey Warden; it'd be too much of an honour!"

"Your father wishes you to come straight away" the elf carried on, fidgeting on her toes "He says you need not change, but be at the hall as soon as you can," And with that, the servant scuttled away without waiting.

"Thank you!" Cavanna called back to her, but she was probably too far to hear by now. _Strange_, Cavanna thought, _how terrified these people seem to be at the sight of armour. I wonder if any have ever even held a weapon before? _She didn't allow herself any more time to think, as she knew she had a place to be.

She walked briskly, yet gracefully down the stone corridors and passages of the castle until the grand hall was in sight. It was a truly awesome room to behold, with a fireplace large enough for a horse to stand it, and furnishings so ornate that they looked strangely ancient next to the grey stone walls. Paintings hung from the walls bordered by golden frames and murals hung from poles portraying wondrous scenes of banquets and gardens, but her favourite, the knight on the hill, holding the sword of triumph over the victorious field.

"Ah, pup! I was hoping you'd arrive soon, I have some guests for you to meet," her father said in his gentle but strong voice, a smile on his lips "I'm sure you'll take great pleasure in their company."

Teryn Brice Cousland was a fine and honourable man, with good intentions and a firm yet tender grasp on his power. He had been a good father to his pup, as he always called the young woman, and had watched her grow up, proudly seeing her progress throughout her life in all aspects she tried. Standing next the greying man were two others.

The first was simple, and rather boring looking man with greying hair cut short and simply on his lined head. Dressed in overly fancily decorated robes, he had to be the Arl Howe. _Snob_, Cavanna though, _total snob. If father wishes wedding bells over him he's going to be __**majorly**__ disappointed_.

But the second man looked entirely different. For starters, he was wearing thick and strong looking armour, the type often preferred by Templars as Cavanna could recall, and he was carrying a large kite shaped shield with a blue Griffin imprinted on the back. It had only a few small scratches, but she could tell it was an old shield. The man himself had a wise face, with dark eyes, a black beard and long black hair tied back into a ponytail that came down the back of his neck.

"Pup, I want you to meet Arl Howe and Duncan, one of the Grey Wardens," her father said gesturing to the individuals in turn. Arl Howe nodded to her with a trace of a smile playing on his thin lips, his grey eyes about as full of life as the straw dummy she had shot at during the day. Duncan gave her a small bow, as much as he could manage in the restrictive armour and stood up straight.

"A pleasure to meet you," The dark haired Warden said to the young woman "Your father tells me great things of your time as a warrior," His eyes were flashing, and as she looked deeper, Cavanna could see a hint of respect flash across the pupils. _I hope father hasn't been exaggerating_, she thought hoping Duncan didn't think her a pre-Madonna.

"It's an honour to meet you sir," she said, bowing lower in her less clunky armour, and gave him an almost shy smile, her eyes glittering as she remembered the tales of the Wardens her nana had told her many a time. Bedtime stories that did the opposite, kept her awake for longer, rather than send her to sleep as she lay in bed, imagining she was riding on one of the huge white Griffins, gliding over the battlefield and saving the kingdoms one by one.

Cavanna realised a little too late she had forgotten to address the Arl Howe, and he was raising an eyebrow in mild distaste.

"Good to meet you too sir," She said hurriedly to the Arl, bowing a little more rapidly, and almost hitting her father in the stomach with her shield "It is an honour to have two such distinguished guests here," She hoped she sounded sure of herself and not inwardly shaking in the presence of the Warden.

"The honour is ours my dear," Duncan said, his tone true and real, like he had nothing to hide from her "I have been hearing things about you for longer than just now. I have heard you have trained as well as any male knight, and have performed well in all areas, and I have to say, I am very impressed."

Cavanna had to stop herself doing backflips, so her stomach did that for her. It growled a little with anxiety, but she pretended to shift her weight to her other leg, making the armour rattle enough to cover the noise.

"I have been thinking," the black haired Warden continued "The Grey Wardens have been in need of new recruits as of late, what with these threats of possible Darkspawn over Ferelden, and it would be my honour to invite you to become a Grey Warden yourself."

Cavanna didn't know what to say or where to begin, so she just let her mouth hang open a little in shock, her dark eyes widening.

"Me? A Grey Warden?" she said in a half whisper, half gasp of delight and shock "It would be a dream come true to become a Grey Warden, to fight beside you in the battlefield and defend Ferelden!"

"My daughter? A Grey Warden?" Bryce Cousland questioned Duncan, looking half curious, half petrified at the thought "Surely she is too young to undertake such a responsibility."

"Not at all," Duncan said in an assuring tone, and not sounding pushy in the least "If a person can prove themselves to be a noble and worthy defender of this land, he or she can go through the joining, and become a Grey Warden." He turned to the dusty blonde woman, who was still looking stunned "If that is what you would want Cavanna."

Cavanna swallowed, and opened her mouth ready to say something, when an ear-splitting scream echoed through the castle and into the hall. Moments later a brown haired male elf came running in looking flustered, his hair tangled and his face red.

"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt my lords and lady" the young servant said, his voice too thick with an Orlisian accent, but sounding much more flustered "But your highness' dog has escaped his kennel again. He is running amuck in the kitchens and terrifying the cook! Lady Cousland wishes to see Miss Cavanna about it, and to hurry!"

"Wuffy?" Cavanna said, her voice confused and her eyebrow raised "I locked his kennel after lunch, he can't have gotten out!"

This was, of course, a huge lie. Wuffy was Cavanna's faithful Mabari warhound and her partner in crime for the last 4 years. The two of them very close, perhaps in some ways they were like an extraordinarily strange brother and sister double act. When she first began training the hound, he had managed to frequently get out of the kennels and cause utter chaos, looking for food, titbits and other edibles along the way. To Cavanna she found it hilarious, and when she felt like it, she would sometimes carelessly leave the padlock off, just to see what kind of trouble her hound could cause. Today was one of those days.

"I'd better go and find mother then," she said to her father, and then looked to the two visitors, "I'm sorry gentlemen, but I must be on my way. It was a pleasure to meet you." She had in fact directed this last sentence at Duncan only, but fortunately the Arl Howe took it as an address to them both.

"I suspect we shall meet again soon," the Arl said, his voice thick and highly strung, "Perhaps later on this evening if you are finished soon?"

"Thank you sir," Cavanna said, giving a short and curt bow, then turned to Duncan, her eyes meeting his, dark on dark, smiled into his wise face and said "I will give you my answer before the day is out, and thank you, so much."

With that, she turned and ran out of the hall, following the sounds of screaming coming from the kitchen, knowing her mother wouldn't be far away.


	2. Chapter 2  Wuffy

_Chapter 2_

Cavanna ran back along the hall she had just walked down not 10 minutes ago, and turned off into the outer corridors and passages surrounded by towering walls of stone, so twisting and strange that it was like a rabbit warren for humans. She however, knew the place like the back of her hand and could pinpoint the sounds of screaming and co-ordinated her running towards there without even thinking, making turns left, right, right, left again until a person unfamiliar would have gotten hopelessly lost.

She turned a corner, and saw her mother standing with another man dressed in heavy Chainmail armour. Cavanna recognised the man to be Ser Gilmore, an old friend of hers. Her mother, Eleanor Cousland, was standing looking tight-lipped and rather irritated, dressed in beautiful royal blue gowns patterned with ornate gold flowers, giving her an heir of regal beauty about her person, even though she was close to her sixties.

She saw Cavanna and called out "Darling, finally you came here," Her face was slightly pinked around her cheekbones, a definite sign she was flustered about something. Cavanna came jogging up to her, the breath coming out of her lungs a little ragged after running for a good while, but she composed herself and she steadily began to breath with ease again.

"Your blasted dog Cavanna," her mother said, half glaring at her daughter, half shaking her head in despair "This is the third time he has gotten out in the last month, it simply will **not** do, we will have to get rid of him if he carries on this nonsense."

Cavanna panicked a little at this, knowing full well this was not Wuffy's doing, but rather her own fault for having this running joke, but she didn't want to tell her mother this.

"Mother, he's not the trouble here, he just needs a stronger cage," She said, feeling a little guilty at lying to her mother "The one he's in after all is only meant for yearlings."

"You know perfectly well the cage is not the issue here Cavanna," her mother said, patting one of her curled buns into place on the side of her head as a way of keeping her hands busy "His padlock was undone. Looks like you forgot to lock the cage again! Mind you I blame those elves, useless they are, never checking the locks, leaving doors open all the time; makes you wonder why we bother paying them at all!"

Cavanna felt particularly bad about this, knowing how poorly most of the castle treated the elves and how little they were paid for their problems, and wanted to tell her mother the truth. But just as she was about to tell her, the voice failed as it reached her mouth, and she simply said "I'm sorry mother, I will make sure to put the padlock on firmly in future; Wuffy means a lot to me, and I would hate to lose him after all these years." Her mother smiled.

"I know he means a lot to you dear," she said, looking at the strong minded girl in front of her "I just wish you would be more careful; you seem to be in a dream half the time, and that won't help you will it. I know you can be a good girl if you'd only focus more often."

"I know mother, and thank you," Cavanna said, a little surprised by the woman's outburst of affection, and then turned to Ser Gilmore properly for the first time.

"Wonderful to see you again Gilmore," she said, holding out a hand, which the red-haired knight shook firmly "It has been too long since we last saw each other!"

"Indeed" Gilmore said, a twinkling smile on his face, making him look quite handsome "I've missed our long talks. We are due a long catch up are we not?"

Cavanna smiled and said "Sounds a like a date, it'd be great to have a conversation with someone who's not either an obnoxious knight or related to me. So do you want to have dinner with me? Or shall we wait until tomorrow?"

"Actually," Gilmore said, slowly and a little hesitantly, and he leaned a little closer towards the young woman "I think I'd better talk to you about something right now. It could be urgent for you to know."

Cavanna looked at him curiously, then turned her back to her mother for a moment as did he, her shield clicking against her armour as she did so.

"There has been word," Gilmore said huskily, his voice lowered but not quite a whisper "That there is a possible threat approaching this Castle. We don't know what, but it seems like there could be an attack sometime soon."

"An attack?" Cavanna said, struggling to keep her voice down "Why hasn't anyone been told about…" she stopped herself, reality hitting her. "That's why the Arl Howe is here isn't he?" she mumbled "He's here to help with the defence. But where are all his men?"

"I do not know" Gilmore said, looking a little concerned, his red hair un-tucking itself from behind his ears, letting it tickle his cheeks.

_He is handsome_ Cavanna thought, looking at the friend she had known for many years, _So why isn't he married yet? He could easily get a girl. _Another scream like a crying bird erupted from a room further along, the same place it had been coming from before.

"Oh Cavanna!" Her mother cried, taking hold of one of her arms and pulling her away from talking to Ser Gilmore "Will you please sort out your dog! You may talk to Ser Gilmore at a later date, but for now stop your poor Nana screaming like that!"

"Oh it's Nana!" Cavanna said, having to hide a smile. Her nana had hated Wuffy from the day he was brought home, and only because he had had a little accident on the kitchen floor, much to her dismay.

"Will you come and assist me?" she said looking back at Ser Gilmore "If Wuffy has found the pork chops it'll take two pairs of trained hands to prise him off them!"

"Of course my lady" Gilmore said, bowing a little and following Cavanna as she began to walk briskly down the corridor to the kitchen.

"You know" the blonde said to the red-head "There is no need for the formalities; we are after all long term friends, so there's no need for this 'My Lady' business. It's not like you need to get on my good side after all!"

Gilmore suddenly had an interest in his thick boots, and went almost as red as his hair.

"Cavanna…" he started, sounding oddly shy, and looked at her in the face "I think my father sent me here for more than just to help with the defence of the castle. He knows I haven't a wife yet, and… he knows you have no partner or husband… I think…" he swallowed at length "…I think he's hoping we may have a future together…"

Cavanna just looked at him, the shock obviously showing in her dark eyes as the man looked once again at his boots, too shy to say anything more.

"Gilmore…" Cavanna started, but she didn't know how to say what she wanted to say "I could never have an arranged marriage; you know that of me, it is not in my nature to want such a thing." She could see the rejection in his eyes and tried to soften what she had said "When I become a knight, I will wake up every day with the possibility of it being my last, and I wouldn't want that kind of worry on anyone, and vice versa. How could I watch someone I care about so much go to battle every day and know I may never see them alive again?"

"I suppose you are right" Gilmore said, managing a tiny smile "And my father at least doesn't expect us to be together, probably just one of his crazy ideas!"

Cavanna grinned and walked a little ahead of him, reaching the small wooden kitchen door and wrapped her knuckles on the hard material. Gilmore struggled to stand up straight, but knew he mustn't take this rejection hard or Cavanna would feel as bad as he did. He sniffed hard, and as Cavanna turned to see if he was ok, he pretended to blow his nose on a hankie from his trouser pocket. Cavanna looked back at the door, and was surprised to see that it hadn't opened, nor could she hear the click of a lock opening. She listened closer and heard feet rapidly hitting the ground, a sure sign that the people inside were running around, and she could hear raised and panicked voices. Deciding she couldn't wait for someone to come for her, she opened the door and walked in.

Panic. How else could she describe it? The two elven cooks that helped her Nana were running around trying to clean up knocked over flour sacks, broken bottles of wine and water, smashed jugs and cutlery strewn all over the floor. Her Nana was standing with her back pressed against the larder door, shouting various orders to her workers with a look of utter distress on her face.

"Nana," Cavanna started, but she was interrupted by the older woman.

"**Where** have you been young lady!" the silver haired cook said furiously, and using an expression normally used on small children "I've been holding this stupid mongrel of yours in the larder for nearly 15 minutes, he has been destroying by kitchen!"

"Calm down Nana," Cavanna soothed, walking over to the woman who had raised her and put a hand on her shoulder for re-assurance "What happened? Did he come in looking for food?"

"Huh, I wish" scoffed Nana, glaring at the mess littering the stone floored kitchen "He come charging in, barking his head off he was! Looks like he was chasing something, but there was nothing for him to chase, so I try to heard him out, but he runs into the Larder, so I shut the door on him. That beast ought to be gone!"

Cavanna stood up straight and said calmly "You'd best let me in so I can try to calm him down, you don't want him to start panicking and destroying the larder do you?"

This seemed to genuinely worry the old woman, so she moved out of the way of the door, and Cavanna went in. The larder was not very big, only around 6 by 8 metres, but it was stuffed with sacks, barrels, buckets and shelves of ingredients, food and goodness knows what else. Wuffy was standing near one corner of the room, his broad snout pointing directly at a sack of flour, and his face twisted into an awful snarl. His growls echoed in Cavanna's ears, as she remembered that this dog was bred to fight, not just to be a pet.

"Wuffy? What is it boy, what have you found?" she cooed at the dog, walking over to him. He was a magnificent specimen, with dense muscles on his shoulder and a behind that rippled with fitness, not an ounce of fat on him anywhere, despite his frequent tit-bits. Wuffy heard her and began to whine at her, looking at her, then back again at the sack, as if he was trying to point her to something.

"What have you found eh?" Cavanna softly said to her faithful companion "Not a little mouse is it?"

She had barely uttered the words when a huge dark grey creature charged out from behind the sack, followed by many of his companions. Rats, huge and grizzly looking, yellow teeth bared as they ran at the three friends, biting down on Wuffy's ankles and back legs.

"Kill them!" Cavanna commanded, drawing her longsword, feeling the metal already chaffing her hand without gloves. Ser Gilmore had done the same, pulling out a massive two-handed sword, and Wuffy began to grab rats in his mouth, shaking them from side to side until they lay dead.

Cavanna brought her blade down on the rats, cutting off tails, heads and even cutting a number of them cleanly in half. Gilmore did much the same, also using his heavy boots to simply stamp on many of them, crushing them and cutting them until bodies were littering the ground. Eventually, Wuffy finished off the last rat, tearing its stomach so badly it almost tore in half. Cavanna drew her breath, and patted Wuffy on the head.

"Good dog," she purred to him, making his little stubby tail wag "You were only trying to get the rats for Nana weren't you?"

Wuffy opened his mouth and panted, so it looked like his was smiling, despite a little blood around his mouth. Cavanna stroked him behind his ears, and Gilmore offered her his handkerchief to wipe her blade down. She cleaned up, slotting the blade back into its case, and walked back into the kitchen.

Nana's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw the state of them all, with blood spattering their boots, and blood all around Wuffy's mouth.

"What on earth where you **doing** in there!" the poor woman said, fanning herself with a cloth "It sounded like a slaughter house in there!"

Wuffy barked loudly, still with his smiling panting face on.

"Wuffy didn't come in here looking for trouble, or even looking for food Nana," Cavanna said, her hand on the dog's head, which was up to her hip "There were a number of large rats in your larder, most likely looking for food reserves for the colder season in a few months. They are all dead now, so you need not worry."

The old woman looked for a split second like she was going to faint, and she began to fan herself with her hand once again. As if by magic one of her elves produced a damp cloth and put it to her head saying "It is ok my lady, just calm down and remember that they are dead" in his lullaby Orlisian lilt.

"Rats, in my** kitchen**!" Nana said, patting the cloth along the brow of her forehead "I thought I'd never see the day! First dogs messing up the place and then finding it's festooned with rats, oh Maker save me!"

"Actually" Cavanna started, squatting down to rub Wuffy's belly as he stood next to her "It was Wuffy who was trying to kill the rats when we entered the larder. He was chasing one around the kitchen, trying to kill it for you."

Wuffy gave a booming bark in response, as if agreeing with her, smiling his comical grin as he panted.

"Well, that's a first, him trying to help me rather than give me a heart attack" Nana said gruffly, tossing the cloth to the elf that had brought it to her "But I guess no good deed should go un-rewarded. Come here, you mangy old flea-bag."

Cavanna looked and saw the elderly woman was holding out two thick pork chops; obviously rejects from her dinner from this evening as they had been dropped on the floor. Wuffy bounded over to her, grabbing the chops in his watering mouth, and devoured them in a matter of seconds, licking his lips appreciatively, and giving another loud bark, nuzzling into the old woman's hand.

"Now don't say Nana never gives you anything" the old cook said, struggling to hide a grin as Wuffy energetically licked her hand to say thank you.

"Aww" Cavanna cooed "I think he likes your nice side!"

"Well he can see it more if he stops messing up my kitchen!" Nana scolded jokingly "Great brute, he needs to be on a battlefield, not in a castle."

Cavanna knew she was right, poor Wuffy was restless and desperate for more action. _Maybe it's not so far away _she thought, remembering Gilmore's threat of an attack.

"I had better be off now" He said, as if reading Cavanna's mind "Your father wished to talk to me about such matters that require knights."

"Ok, well you owe me lunch at 1 o'clock tomorrow then" Cavanna said, shaking his hand as a goodbye "Provided you still wish to?"

"Certainly my lady" Gilmore said, beaming from ear to ear, and to Cavanna's surprise, hugged her "It's a date, as you say."

Cavanna smiled at him, and he left out of the door hurriedly, scuttling off to the hall without looking back, obviously embarrassed. Cavanna shook her head sadly at the knight, knowing full well he felt a mild attraction to her, even though she regarded him as a good friend, and nothing more.

She looked down at Wuffy, who was licking the blood off her boots carefully. It was a trick she had taught the dog many years ago, to clean blood off her armour, and it had proved useful a few times before.

"Come on Wuffy," she said calmly to her companion, who looked up at her with a loyal gaze "It's dark now, we'd better get to bed; more training waits for us tomorrow after all!"

Wuffy Barked happily at her, wagging his tail a little, excited by the prospect of an adventure.

"Will you not be having dinner with us Cavanna dear?" Nana said, seeming to start to calm down "You need a hearty meal after a day full of training."

"No thanks" Cavanna said, putting a hand to her stomach "I ate with the knights straight after training, they tend to eat earlier, I figured I'd be sociable and eat with them."

"Very well" the old woman nodded, having sometimes seen Cavanna eating with the knights, eating fast and chugging beer like she was a man herself; her tomboyish streak looked like it would never leave her.

"Goodnight Nana!" Cavanna called over her shoulder as she walked out of the door "See you for breakfast."

"Night m'lady" Nana said, tutting a little under her breath as she saw something she didn't wish to see on the blonde woman's arm. Cavanna walked out of the kitchen, the dog following her close to her side; her furry bodyguard almost.

The elderly woman shook her head when she was gone. Cavanna's arms with covered in bruises, fresh cuts and even a few new scars. The training was harsh and heavy, even when it was just a friendly fire and other un-trained guards, but injuries did happen, and Nana worried for the young woman, hoping she would not go the same way as so many knights had gone before her.

Night-time turned the castle into a different setting completely, almost like the story books Cavanna had read when she was only young. The walls were bathed in a blue-black light, lit up now and then by torches attached to the wall with metal stalks casting an orange glow onto the stones, making them seem newer, and more painted than in the day. The elven servants were even changed, walking around briskly in warmer cloaks, carrying white candles on wooden holders to light their way as they carried on working, stopping in front of any resident to bow or curtsy; formality not shaken by the darkness.

Wuffy trotted along the corridors next to his master, his claws making little _tap-tap-tap_ noises as they hit the stones. He would stop every few minutes to sniff at a corner of loose stone, and if he ever raised a hind leg, one sharp "No!" from his blond owner would stop him instantly.

Cavanna's armour was beginning to feel heavy on her body, and her boot tips were beginning to graze along the floor as her feet started to drag a little. She had to struggle to keep her eyes open and alert to Wuffy as well as any passing elf, and she was only too grateful when she arrived at her room. She opened the light oak door, the handle showing its age as a little rust came off in her clammy hands. It creaked slightly, but reminded her that even though she was a noble, she didn't have to always be surrounded by luxuries that she found suffocating at times.

She took off the armour, feeling the huge weight lift off her body, and hung it on her stand. She peeled off her shirt and trousers, her boots lay on the floor ready for Wuffy to pick up and place in a corner as he had been trained to do so only 3 months ago. She caught sight of herself in the mirror, and was a little startled. Her stomach was looking rather a lot thinner than normal, with muscle showing in the shape of faint abs. She hadn't really eaten all that much lately, and her exercise was tripling, and she must have lost more weight than she had realized. She worried about this, and reminded herself to eat properly, and on cue, Wuffy brought her an apple from the fruit bowl.

"Thanks boy" she said, patting his head and fingering the apple in her palm "you can go to bed now, sweet dreams."

Wuffy walked calmly over to the pile of chewed blankets curled in a corner, yawned and flopped down on top of them, his eyes flickering shut and gentle snores replaced his panting.

Cavanna looked at the apple carefully, stroking it with a thumb. She placed it on the cabinet next to her, and went into the tiny room next door to wash. Her hips stuck out more, her ribs were actually present, and her collarbones could be seen. She had always been a little chubby, but lately she was growing slim… _too slim_ she thought sighing. She dried herself, and wondered over to the bed, picking up the apple as she did so, and bit into its crunchy skin. The food felt pleasant on her tongue and her stomach growled in anticipation for the blessing of nutrition. She finished the fruit, climbed into the bed, and blew out her candle.

Her sleep was dark and unconscious, not unusual, but suddenly a stinging smell filled her nostrils… her actual nostrils, not a dream like smell, but a real one. She only realised what it was when the door to her room was slammed open and her eyes shot awake. "My lady, the Castle!" a voice called out; Antivian accented, it had to be an elf "The Castle is under atta-!" The voice of the male elf stopped abruptly, and Cavanna saw the dark-haired person fall into her room, an arrow in his back, dead as a doornail. The smell, Cavanna realised with a feeling of utter sickening dread, was fire!


	3. Chapter 3 Attack on Castle Cousland

_**Chapter 3**_

Cavanna's face twisted in fear, and Wuffy woke up, whining as he smelled the smoke in the air. The blonde girl scrambled out of bed, the cotton sheets whipping back against the wall as she tore them off herself. She ran over to the elf and turned his body over, snapping the birch arrow as she did so in her hand. She gasped as she recognized Ronda, an elf who had served with her family for almost 15 years; and this arrow in his back was his payment. Cavanna looked in sorrow into the now empty violet eyes, dark hair tangled and scruffy, with a thin trickle of blood snaking out of the corner of his mouth. _The attack_ Cavanna remembered, anger surging through her, _there really was to be one, and it's was happening! _

Instantly she knew she wasn't safe, and dragged herself away from the limp body, scrambling away from the door.

"Wuffy!" she whispered to the Mabari who was still crouched in the corner, his eyes glittering with fear and rage "Close the door boy, close it!" Wuffy hesitated for a moment, and then ran to the door, using his huge bulk to barricade it, locking it tight.

"Good boy!" Cavanna said to him, but she knew that the door would not hold out long against the men once they started smashing against it with swords, arrows and shields.

She ran over to her armour rack and pulled off the metal shell she had taken off only a mere 5 hours ago. She first pulled on her chainmail top, then the thick trousers, the material scratching her skin as she tore them across her at a great speed, then the chest plate, leg and knee covers, shoulder guards and finally her boots, still a little warm from the last time she had worn them.

She felt flushed already having to pull on her armour at such hast, but she forced herself to calm down, just as her teachers had told her to do in the face of danger. She could hear her instructor now, saying _calm down, the enemy will see your distress and feed on it, knowing you will make mistakes when you panic._ She closed her eyes, and breathed in deeply, her chest heaving as she tried desperately to slow her heart rate.

She opened her eyes suddenly, and realised she didn't have any gloves, remembering how her sword had chaffed against her hands during the rat attack. _Shit_ she thought _I don't have another pair! Unless… _Cavanna remembered something; her father had given her a pair of starter gloves when her training had begun, if she found that it was easier to use her own pair than a borrowed one. They were a little bit too small for her, but right now she didn't care.

She pulled open the doors to her wardrobe, and rummaged hurriedly around in the pairs of shoes, scarves and hats, pulling great handfuls out at a time. Wuffy gave a little yelp as someone began to ram the door with what seemed like a shield; he couldn't hold back the men forever.

"Hold on Wuffy!" the young Cousland whispered frantically, and finally she pulled one last pile of shoes and saw the gloves at the back, resting against her trio of daggers; another gift, this time from her mother, as a protection if she didn't carry her sword. She took both items, and grabbed her backpack from the hook on the side; slinging it onto her shoulders and attaching the daggers to a belt around her slender waist.

Wuffy gave a squealing yelp as an axe smashed into the wood of the door, sending splinters scattering all over the room. With one last look at her room, that she knew with a sinking feeling would be the last look, Cavanna picked up her shield and sword and stood in front of the door.

"Let the door go Wuffy!" Cavanna cried, her voice strong and unwavering "Let the bastards show their faces!"

Wuffy looked at her, and bounded to her side, growling at the door, ready for the attackers to break down the door. Cavanna kept her eyes riveted on the door, but her right hand, yet to hold her sword, closed slowly around a dagger. With a deafening crack, the door was broken down the middle by the same axe, and an armed soldier looked the blonde girl straight in the face.

"So kind of you to drop by" Cavanna mocked, and with a frightening speed, pulled out the dagger, aimed and throw it at the neck of her rival.

The blade hit just where she had aimed; slicing through a main artery, blood spurting out over his front and on the floor. The man crumpled, dropped his axe, and fell on the floor. Cavanna could see the archer that had shot Ronda was right behind the dead warrior, looking a little stunned. The Cousland could see this opportunity, and took it with both hands.

"Wuffy, kill him!" she screamed at the brown Mabari next to her, and the animal obeyed her with a terrifying snarl. He hurtled at the archer, and knocked him clean off his feat, clamping his powerful jaws around his neck, breaking it and finishing him off before he had even any time to defend himself. Wuffy stood up straight, still growling, and Cavanna could see the battlefield in his eyes, his breeding paying off.

Drawing her sword and shield, she ran out of the room down the corridor, now echoing with the terrifying sounds of fighting and screaming, blood spattered up the walls, and now and then, a body of an elf or a soldier. The anger pumping through Cavanna's body was horrific, her mind trying to make sense of what she had seen on the archer's armour. The curling emblem of a black flower embroidered on his shirt was the exact same one she had seen on the Arl Rendon Howe's clothing during the afternoon. These men were Howe's soldiers!

_But why?_ Cavanna thought over and over as she ran through corridors looking for her mother and father _Why would he want to kill my family?_ Then without warning as she turned a corner, three of Howe's men attacked her, two wielding swords and shield and one archer, a shortbow in his hands.

Cavanna had only perhaps a second to react, and she ducked onto the floor, the arrow fired by the archer missing her by centimetres. She landed heavily on the floor, and then scrambled to her feet, having to stop a blow from one of the men with her shield, the wood slamming into the razor sharp blade.

With a battle cry she reached out her arm and stabbed the sword into the man's leg, just above the knee, the weapon scraping against bone. The man screamed and backed off, the sword sliding back out and leaving a torrent of blood pouring down his leg, crimson as the sunset.

Cavanna could hear screams from the other man, and she realised Wuffy must be attacking him, barking at him and biting into huge chunks of his flesh. With gritted teeth, she raised her sword and was about to bring it crashing down onto the attacker, when a sickening pain seared through her left arm, and she dropped her shield onto the floor with a clatter.

She fell to her knees and saw blood dripping down onto the stones below, and she could feel the arrow sticking out of the upper part of her arm, rammed into her skin and muscle. She realised she was lucky this was a short bow; had it been a crossbow, it could have gone all the way through her arm and into her chest. She cursed herself for not killing the archer first and turned to see he was already beginning to aim at her again. Cavanna closed her eyes and waited for the darkness of death, when a fierce bark rang out, and Wuffy leapt onto the archer, knocking him clean off his feet and letting the arrow go wild.

But the youngest Cousland could sense that there was something behind her, and she turned, seeing the warrior she had injured, holding his blade, ready to bring it down into her heart. She tried to get up, to grab her shield, but her arms wouldn't obey her. She was seized up with terror and pain, and her vision was starting to swim as the blood trickled slowly out of her wound. She couldn't look as he raised his mighty weapon above his head, so she squeezed her eyes shut, sending out a prayer to the maker that her mother and father would live. To her surprise, nothing came, and in an instant there was a gruesome sound of a sword sliding clean through skin, a grunt from the warrior, and she was showered in blood.

She opened her eyes, and saw to her amazement, that it was the Grey Warden, Duncan. His longsword was sticking out of the attacker's stomach, and the blood was gushing out. With a face as blank as a piece of paper, her ripped the weapon out of the body, and let it fall to the ground.

Duncan looked down at Cavanna, his own armour covered in several blood stains and his shield coated in the crimson liquid. His eyes were as calm as ever, dark and mysterious with little glitters of light in the corner.

"Cavanna!" he said in a tone of alarm, seeing the arrow sticking of her arm "You're hurt, hold on a moment."

He dropped his weapon and shield, and reached into his own backpack, rummaging around for something, and bringing it out. It was an injury kit, not very big, but enough to stem the blood flow from her arm.

"I'm sorry" the Warden said, taking hold of the arrow with one hand and her shoulder with the right "This is going to hurt."

He tugged the arrow out of Cavanna's arm, and she had to bite down hard on her lip so she wouldn't cry out, and a little more blood poured out of the open wound. Duncan immediately began to clean the wound with a pre-damned cloth, wiping the already drying blood away, and placing a cotton bandage over the injury and tying it tightly on the other side.

"Thank you" Cavanna said, her head settling a little and the blood finally stop seeping out of her skin "You… you saved my life Duncan."

"It is my duty to the land to save its people" Duncan said, tucking the ends of the cloth in so as not to catch on anything, and he added "You need better armour than this on the battlefield; armless armour is useless."

Cavanna nodded slowly, struggling to stand up. Her legs trembled slightly, but she forced herself once again to _calm down_, it would be ok.

"Where are my parents?" She said as she picked up her blade and shield "Have you seen them?"

"Your mother is fighting Howe's men as we speak" Duncan said "But she was unable to locate your father; she sent me after you. We have to go, come on."

Cavanna was almost alarmed by how calm the man was, no hint of anger or fear flashed in his dark eyes, just wisdom and serenity. She ran after the man, her arm stinging agonizingly, but she ignored it, knowing she had a job to do; finding her family.

Duncan rounded the corner and she saw her mother, standing alone in the middle of the same corridor she had been in the evening before, this time dressed in rough leather armour and arm guards, _what I should have worn_ Cavanna thought to herself.

"Darling!" Eleanor Cousland cried out, and she ran over to her daughter, her arms embracing her in a short but close hug "Your father, have you seen him? I can find him no-where!"

"I haven't seen anyone" Cavanna answered, her eyes giving away her fear "And where is Fergus?"

Cavanna was referring to her older brother, Fergus Cousland whom also lived in the castle with his wife, Oriana, and son, Oren. He had been due to head off to battle that very day, but weather he was able to get out in time was not known by anyone it seemed.

"Fergus isn't to be found anywhere either" Lady Cousland cried, her voice trembling as if she was struggling to stay in control of her emotions "Why is this happening to my family?"

Cavanna placed her hands on her mother's shoulders, ignoring the throb in her left arm, and firmly made her face her.

"Mother, we have to be strong if we want to save ourselves" the young Cousland said, without hint of hesitation "Why this is happening isn't important now, what's important now is to save ourselves and our family."

Eleanor looked into her Daughter's eyes, and nodded slowly, eyes glistening with a threat of tears.

"Lady Cousland!" An Orlisian accent gave away the identity of the speaker as the red-headed girl whom had spoken to Cavanna only around 7 hours ago, and both nobles turned to see her, standing in loose fitting nightwear and a thin spatter of blood along the right side, her eyes wide and dilated with fear.

"Lord Cousland has been spotted!" She gasped, and with pity Cavanna realised that the thin streak of blood must be her own "He was seen near the kitchens, armed with only his sword; he must be rescued!"

"But what about Fergus?" the elderly Lady fretted, her eyes darting from the elf to her daughter back and forth "He must be found too!"

Cavanna knew there was only one thing she could possibly do, and even though she did not like it, it seemed to be the only way she could have a hope of saving her family.

"I will look for Fergus and his family" she firmly told her mother "And you can find father. I know you're strong mother, you can find him without me."

Eleanor looked like she wanted to scream, but with a single tear she bit her lip, nodded, and embraced her daughter, muttering a prayer of good luck in her ear. Cavanna smiled at her greying mother, and began to run in the direction of Fergus's room, Duncan not far behind her.

She ran as fast as she dared, Wuffy at her heels the whole time keeping in step with her the whole way. They met a few more of Howe's men along the way, but with a combination of skilled swordsmanship and rage, the trio were able to cut them down in their paths, blood painting the walls scarlet and staining anything it touched.

They rounded the corner to where her brother's room was, but Cavanna could see with a sinking feeling in her stomach that they were too late. Lying on the stone floor, about 3 metres from the door to his room in a pool of his blood, was Oren. Cavanna ran forward to her nephew and turned his face to her. His eyes were shut, and his lips parted slightly, blood snaking down the side of his face. He was dead, probably finished off by a thrown dagger that had been retrieved by the thrower.

The youngest Cousland's body trembled as she held her dead relation's head on her knee, and a wave of anger washed over her. _He was innocent_ She thought with a poisonous look plastered on her face, _an innocent victim in this, like so many other people._ She lowered his head, and ran into her brother's room, and drew a sharp intake of breath.

The room was in a shambles, furniture overturned and all the carpets spattered with blood; a tapestry of death. Lying a little to the left of the fireplace was her sister-in-law, Oriana, a fatal wound covering the whole of her stomach. Cavanna felt sick looking at the beautiful woman destroyed on the floor, and knew that this was a war; a war on the Howes, and she would get revenge for these victims. Fergus was no-where in sight, so the young Cousland turned back and ran out the door, nearly slamming into Duncan.

"They're dead" She said in a voice filled with rage "My brother's family is dead! We have to find my father!"

Duncan looked worried, a genuine emotion spreading into his eyes, but he nodded, knowing she was right. The two humans and Mabari charged back down the corridors, heading to the kitchen. In the dead of night, the stone passageways were lit up with the yellow and orange light of an out of control fire, as the castle began to descend into ruin. They reached the kitchen door and threw it open.

Cavanna screamed silently when she saw the two elven cooks lying dead, stab wounds in their backs, and went a deadly pale colour when she saw the body lying near a corner. It was the body of her Nana, now with a knife sticking into her spine and an arrow in her neck, like a piece of game meat.

The blonde Cousland couldn't move, as the shock travelled through her at the sight of such an important woman to her lying dead on the stones.

"Cavanna!" a voice suddenly called to her, snapping her out of the trance, and she along with Duncan and Wuffy looked over to where it was. It was coming from the larder door, and a gloved hand was gesturing for them to come in. They stealthily shut the kitchen door, in the vain hope that Howe's men many not find them as fast, and ran into the larder.

The door opened for them as all three ran in, and was slammed shut as soon as Duncan entered, locking tightly on a firm iron bolt. Cavanna turned and saw the person on the door was in fact Ser Gilmore, but looking a lot worse than when she had last seen him. One arm was hanging limp, blood trickling down from it onto the ground, and his face was a sickly shade of green, contrasting horrifically with his red hair.

"Pup!" a voice weakly called from the other side of the room "I knew you'd make it."

Cavanna didn't even have to look to recognize the voice, but looked anyway to see her beloved father, lying in a rapidly increasing pool of blood and her mother crouched over him.

"Father!" she screamed, and threw her arms around him, ignoring the blood adding to the darker stuff on her armour already "It's ok, we've found you now, and we can save you!"

"It's no good" Bryce gasped, his voice ragged and hoarse "I am not going to be able to make it… I'm done for pup."

"Darling, what are you saying?" Eleanor cried out, tears now falling fast down her face as she faced the possibility of her Husband dying "We can rescue you, we can fight back!"

"It's useless" the Lord panted "There are too many of Howe's men; we'd be overcome in minutes. But Cavanna, I have a way out for you and Duncan."

"What?" Cavanna said, her face contorting in confusion and pain at seeing her father dying "Why only us? Why not you?"

"Because…" Bryce caught his breath, as he struggled to talk "…because you can avenge me pup, I know you have it in you to avenge this family, and to bring down Howe for what he has done."

Cavanna looked at her mother, but Eleanor Cousland was tight-lipped, and she knew that she was going to stay with her Husband to the end, and no amount of convincing would change that.

"The passageway is under those sacks in the corner" Lady Cousland told her daughter with pain spread over face "Go through the trap door and lock it once you are in, then throw away the key. It is the only way to assure you will get out alive my dear."

"Mother…" Cavanna's voice tailed off, and she found herself feeling hot and tearful as her world began to crumble.

"There is no choice I'm afraid" Duncan said, sorrow in his eyes and a sad expression contorting his face "If you do not get out, your whole family line could be lost."

Cavanna knew they were right, but she couldn't do it, she just couldn't do this!

Her mind was made up for her when she heard the kitchen door break down and the sound of Howe's men pouring into the room.

"I'll fight all the bastards I can to give you extra time" Eleanor Cousland seethed "But you must go, now!"

Cavanna gave her family one last sorrowful look, and ran for the sacks, pulling them aside to reveal the trap door. She pulled open the hatch, and hurried Wuffy down into the hatch, with Duncan not far behind him. She was just about to pull the door down again, when a voice called out

"Cavanna, wait!" The blonde looked up, and saw Ser Gilmore leaning over the hole in the floor, his face stricken with pain.

"Cavanna" he began, catching his breath as he carried on "I'm probably never going to see you again, so I only have this one chance to say what I should have said 3 years ago… I love you."

With his good hand cupping her face, he kissed her softly on the lips, a tender and caring kiss; a kiss to say goodbye. The two broke apart, and Cavanna looked at him with a mixture of shock and sadness in her eyes.

"Rory…" she began to say, using for the first time his first name, when the larder door suddenly sprouted an axe, as the men began to shred it down.

"GO!" Bryce roared at his daughter, tears streaking his face, and with one final effort, Cavanna closed the hatch, and locked it tight, throwing the key into the darkness. She ran towards a filter of light coming from what looking like a gutter where Duncan and Wuffy were, a shallow puddle under her feet making little splattering sounds as she ran.

She reached her companions, and in the safety of the underground chamber, she began to cry. Duncan put his arms around her shoulders and rocked her gently, while Wuffy nuzzled into her legs, their silent words trying to comfort the weeping girl, as upstairs, her family was brutally and heartlessly slain.


	4. Chapter 4  Ostagar, Kings and Mages

Chapter 4

The next day of travelling was a mere blur for Cavanna, with words and faces melting into each other as grief wracked at her body, her injuries being the least of her worries. A mage had been able to heal her various cuts and bruises, but the arrow wound on her arm had become infected and red. He had been able to remove the infection, but the wound would take a number of weeks to properly heal, and chances were it would scar. Cavanna had simply looked at it, not seeing the flesh wound that ran all the way down to her bone, but instead seeing the faces of her Mother and Father and Ser Gilmore, who by now would surely be dead.

Duncan had said to her shortly after leaving Highever that they would be heading to a place called Ostagar where the pair and her dog would be meeting the king. Cavanna had taken it all in, but she still walked along in a haze, a mist of grief and betrayal hanging over her eyes and taking away the sparkle out of the darkness. Even Wuffy walked without his usual step, his head hanging low and whining more often than normal. Cavanna would now and then stroke him behind his ears to remind him all was not lost, but even she felt hopeless as they journeyed on.

Duncan felt it best not to probe her or annoy her with words of comfort that mean little when someone close to you has died. He simply kept in step with her, watching the bushes and trees making sure she was safe from any possible threat of attack.

They travelled on for a number of hours, but neither felt it necessary to keep track of how many there were, it would serve no purpose. After a time, nearing the outskirts of Ostagar, Cavanna seemed to be gradually waking up out of the deep slumber of grief, and her senses were beginning to return to normal once more. Wuffy picked up on this, and was once again bounding about, barking and whining at things he found curious or interesting.

It was when Ostagar was in sight that a squirrel ran out from the trees and in front of them. Wuffy spotted it in an instant and began to give chase, his mouth bared into a battle snarl, barking savagely at the defenceless animal. Duncan could do nothing to control the hound, and just as he saw the massive Mabari baring down on the creature, Cavanna shouted out "Wuffy! Leave it alone!"

Wuffy stopped in a single heartbeat, his paws rooted to the spot, and his back hunched as he realized the trouble he was in for running off. Duncan looked up at Cavanna, who was glaring at Wuffy with discipline shinning in her eyes, which at some point seemed to have re-gained their sparkle.

"Naughty boy!" She said gruffly to the brown dog "You do **not **run off without me after anything but Darkspawn, you hear me?"

Wuffy whined pityingly at his master, giving her his special 'puppy eyes' that were admittedly enough to make even the hardest of Arls melt. Cavanna struggled to keep her glare, then gave in and cried out "Oh come here you big softie; Give Cavanna some Mabari love!"

With that, the hulking tower of a dog lunged at his beloved master and charged into her stomach. Any other woman would have fallen flat on the floor, or even thrown up, but Cavanna simply staggered, and hugged him tightly around his broad neck, rubbing the fur and making his studded collar clink against her gloves. Duncan was amazed at how solid the woman seemed to be. If a Mabari couldn't make her topple, perhaps she may turn out to be much harder to bring down than the eyes first deduced.

"I see you two have a great bond my lady" The senior Warden said to the blonde woman, squatting down to stroke the Mabari behind his ears "It's a bond that is truly a pleasure to watch".

Any other person touching Wuffy would have been bitten or at least growled at, but Duncan was the kind of man that radiated respect and honour, something the dog could pick up on, and he allowed the skilled fingers to tickle the soft fur behind his ears.

"He is a fine warrior" Cavanna muttered, more to herself than Duncan, but the dark haired man smiled warmly at her and stood up once more.

"We'd better keep going" he announced to them both "Ostagar is nearly upon us, and we want to get there and get you matters before nightfall. We have ten hours to do a lot of work."

"Yes Duncan, of course" Cavanna said obediently to the Warden, giving Wuffy a pat on his back before standing up straight.

The trio continued on, and as Ostagar came into view, Cavanna was struggling to fight back the hoard of questions she so badly wanted to ask Duncan. _What happens in the ritual? What are Darkspawn like to fight? What will happen to Wuffy? _She decided that silence was golden, and kept quiet, hoping there would be a time she could soon have her questions answered.

"We are now at Ostagar" Duncan announced as they reached the gates of the city "Welcome Cavanna; this will be where you will participate in the ritual to become a Grey Warden."

"Wow" Cavanna gushed, smiling broadly for the first time in a while, a light breeze lifting her soft hair from her shoulders and tickling her face, and for the first time, Duncan noticed the tattoos on her face. He was surprised, as her hair seemed to have hidden them so far, but they were there, unmistakably. They were rather pretty, and formed over her cheeks; A small circle with two twisting lines cutting through it and pointing towards her mouth. They were a faint brown colour, probably why Duncan had not seen them already.

Ostagar itself was certainly something. One of the first things you could notice about this ancient city was how crowded it was. There were people everywhere of every kind of background, bustling through crowds carrying possessions, moving carts, erecting tents, caring for the sick and the young, and even some who were caring for the Mabari hounds.

The people themselves could have come from the four corners of Thedas as far as Cavanna could see, with Warriors striking out at straw targets, rogues brandishing and cleaning daggers with cloths, mages summoning spells of healing and fire, and ordinary folk mingling with the others, there noble and pauper clothing melting into the crowds to become one seething mass of humanity. Cavanna could also spot the odd few elves here and there, hurrying around carrying trays of food and drink, weapons and arms and in some cases, Mabari hound paints and collars, thick studs pinned on strong black leather.

Even Wuffy seemed impressed by the crowds and gave a happy bark, kneading his paws into the ground, desperate to run into it and drink in the smells of everything around him. It took only a glance and a frown from Cavanna to calm him down, and he stood still and quiet next to her, his tail the only thing giving away how excited he was as it wagged so fast it became a blur.

"We will need to meet with the king Cailin" Duncan suddenly said, breaking her trance on the bustling people "He is expecting a visit from me at some point."

"King Cailin" Cavanna breathed, thinking of how often his name had come up in conversation in her home at Highever "Wow! You mean we're actually seeing him?" Duncan gave her a twinkling smile, and it seemed enough to answer her question.

They both set off down an ancient stone walkway, surrounded by huge stone pillars, and they soon reached what looked like a round room held up by yet more pillars, but with no walls and no roof.

Standing in the roofless room was a small group of 4 men. Two were knights, dressed in finest armor, made assumingly of Dragonbone or Silverite as it caught the light of the sun and positively gleamed.

The slightly shorter man was dressed in massive armor, but with no helmet, and again made of Silverite. He had jet black hair without any shine to it, and two locks by the side of his face were braided in twin plaits that rested gently against his cheastplate. His face was no thing of beauty, with black circles underneath the grey eyes, set in pale skin and hollow cheeks. Cavanna felt a little intimidated by his appearance, so she looked at the last man.

He appeared to be the tallest of all four men, and his armor was of such fine make and shine that it dwarfed the quality of the other 3 men's armor. It was massive armor, but was a beautiful golden colour, with pattern around the edges of the metal, giving it a regal look and framing the man perfectly. The man himself was one that you cannot help but smile at. He had long, rich golden hair that tumbled down in smooth and straight locks down to his shoulders. He had two plats going from the front-sides of his head, scooping up the hair from around the front of his ears, and meeting at the back in an immaculate plait. The hair would have been perfect were it not for two thin strands that had escaped the plaits, and hung in front of his eyes giving him a soft look. His face was a very handsome one, with a fine shaped chin and gentle blue eyes. Even his nose seemed to be one of perfection and the light stubble around his chin and jaw gave him a finished look, like a beautifully polished statue. This man, Cavanna realized, was no other than King Cailin Theirin himself, and she was struck by how different he looked to what she had expected.

Cailin turned and saw them, smiling all over his warm face, and walked over to them with his arms outstretched in a royal welcome.

"Duncan!" He cried out, his voice warm, rich and full of life "You're here at last; I thought you weren't going to be able to make it."

"We had some troubles your Majesty" Duncan said smoothly "But we are here now."

With that the two firmly shook hands and gave each other a quick hug, doing the manly thing of slapping each other on the back. Cavanna had never understood why men felt the need to do this, but she stood by a smiled politely, her hands clasped in the ill-fitting gloves.

"Well now, you must be the new recruit" Cailin said, turning to Cavanna and beaming "A pleasure to meet you young lady."

"The pleasure is mine your Majesty" Cavanna said as smoothly as she could manage without her sounding scared "It is an honor to meet you at last."

The king offered her his hand, and she shook it firmly before giving him a bow. Cailin smiled broadly.

"You must be the Cousland's youngest am I right?" Cailin said, putting one gloved hand thoughtfully to his mouth "Yes, you have the look about you, a wonderful family. How is Bryce these days? And Eleanor?"

Cavanna's breath caught in her throat and she had to stop herself from whimpering out loud. _Compose yourself_ she thought frantically _tell him what's important and don't start bawling like a child._

"I'm afraid..." she started, her hands trembling against each other "... Arl Howe has shown himself to be a traitor. He... murdered my family around 2 days ago. Bryce and Eleanor are both dead, and I don't know the whereabouts of my brother Fergus."

These words had a nasty effect on Cailin and a bit of the warm colour in his face drained away. His eyes clouded over, and his lips drew tight together, and he turned away from both Duncan and Cavanna, staring down at the ground in a way that a small child would sulk if he had been told off for taking a sweet he shouldn't have taken. Cavanna could see this man was not yet fully mature, yet she could see he felt sorry for her.

"Your Majesty, this news means we cannot trust Howe as an ally" Duncan said gently to the young man, his eyes kind but firm "He has probably taken over Highever and claimed himself to be the Teryn. Your word against his would mean the end for him."

Cailin lifted his face, his lips still tight, but his eyes now fiery.

"I will make sure he will be exposed, but only after the battle is over and we've won it." the golden haired man said boldly "He shall pay as any other traitor should, but we have Darkspawn to contend with at this moment in time."

He turned back to Cavanna, his face seemly calmer and his smile a little more prominent.

"However I do have news of your brother" the pursed lips were now relaxed and smiling "He is out on the field today, I'm afraid we cannot contact him to tell him of the news. On his return, I will make sure he is informed."

"Majesty" Cavanna started to protest "Isn't there a way to inform him today?"

"I'm afraid not" Cailin said, forgetting to add 'My lady' but Cavanna found this to be a pleasant change "It would mean sending out a party to find him, and I need those men here to prepare for the battle. My apologies, and you have my condolences for the loss of your parents, they will be missed greatly."

He nodded to her and turned to Duncan once more with a gleam in his blue eyes.

"It'll be wonderful to have the famed Grey Wardens fighting beside us in the battle" Cavanna noticed his face had turned to something like a childish dream "Just like in the olden tales, fighting beside the king against the enemy, a hero of the blight!"

During this statement, he had turned away from the pair and was staring to the sky with an impish smile on his face and his fists clenched and raised like he wanted to punch the enemy right there.

"Majesty" said a husky and rough sounding voice, like it was being grated "We don't even know for sure if this is a true blight. A hoard of Darkspawn does not mean a blight is on our hands."

The voice had come from the black haired man, who had stepped forward and was standing behind Cailin by a few steps. Cavanna noticed that the man had on his person, a huge shield, about the size of his entire upper body, and it looked like it weighed a ton. She felt her own small round wooden shield weighing barely anything on her back, and felt a stab of regret. Her family had a beautiful shield at the castle, kite shaped, and printed with the Cousland's emblem in blue paint. She had held it before and couldn't wait to inherit it from her father. She would never hold that shield again, or the wonderful aquamarine studded sword that went with it, as they had gone to Howe's men, the bastards.

"Ugh" Cailin uttered, his hands dropping from the sky and hanging by his sides like a naughty child "I can never have a battle like in the tales. Ah well, can't be helped."

Cavanna almost wanted to laugh in front of everyone at this man's total lack of a grasp on reality. He was treating an infestation of Darkspawn and a threat of a blight like it was all one big game, she just couldn't believe her ears.

"Duncan" Cailin said, facing the Warden once more "I will need you for a meeting tonight to discuss the position of the Grey Wardens on the field."

Presently he gestured to the dark and serious man who was still standing behind him, but now stepped out.

"Teryn Loghain will be there also to discuss the plan with us" the golden haired man announced, a proud smile playing on his lips

"He will be our key to defeating those Darkspawn; no-one plans a field like this man."

"You flatter me Sire" the serious warrior who was apparently called Loghain muttered, although Cavanna could sense something on the edge of his tone; was it ice?

"Come my dear" Duncan suddenly said, breaking her out of her thoughts "We have much to do before the meeting tonight."

Cavanna nodded in agreement and bowed once more the King Cailin, who bowed back to her before shaking hands with Duncan as a farewell. The Warden and the blonde woman along with the Mabari who had witnessed the whole meeting in obedient silence turned away from the four warriors, and walked back down the stone passage.

When they were for sure out of earshot, Cavanna said out loud "Well, that was... interesting to say the least."

"Try not to think badly of Cailin" Duncan replied calmly, reading her mind "He is still a young man and learning every day."

"Yes, but still" Cavanna protested, her hands moving in wild gestures as they always did when she was talking with a strong opinion "Surely he isn't the man who holds this Kingdom together, he seems like he has about as much of a grip on reality as water does on oil."

Wuffy gave a bark of agreement, his voice being heard for the first time since they had entered Ostagar.

"Cailin is the brawn of the kingdom" Duncan agreed, looking properly towards Cavanna "And it is true he does not do much of the leading in the kingdom; much of that is left to Anora, his wife, and Loghain leads his armies, and does a sterling job at it seems."

The young girl gave a cheeky smile and replied "I knew it would be a woman holding together Fereldan!"

Even Duncan gave a chuckle at this remark in agreement, and the trio continued on towards what seemed like the center of a mass of tents. There was a magnificent fireplace made of stacked wooden logs and had not been lit yet as it was only early afternoon.

"But now that is over with" the older man started talking again, standing still for once "We have business to contend with. There is another Grey Warden here called Alistair; He was the first to arrive with the new recruits and will be around here somewhere on his own. Go and find him, talk to him and he will answer any remaining questions you have as best he can. Once you are finished, bring him back here and you will meet the other Warden recruits."

"Of course Duncan" Cavanna answered calmly, bowing to the warrior, and with a flick of her head she called "Come on boy!" and the Mabari followed her walking away from the fireplace.

_Alistair_ she thought, running over the conversation with Duncan in her head,_ Not exactly a modern name. You watch, he's going to be some grizzly old man with about four teeth and one eye or something. _

She stopped suddenly, and realized that she didn't know where she was going. She had not been given any tour or pointers to his whereabouts, he could be anywhere for all she knew, especially as she had no idea what he looked like. She saw an official looking soldier standing idle and gazing at his nails, clearly in a dream. She walked up to him and said "Excuse me sir, but you haven't seen a Grey Warden by the name of 'Alistair' have you?"

"I believe I have m'lady" the soldier said, standing up straight and putting his hands to his sides "He went in that direction a few moments ago; some message for a mage on the other side of those tents on the stone platform."

"Thank you sir" Cavanna said politely, giving him a small bow and he gave her a return one.

She walked around the tents and saw a stone platform, a good height off the ground with three sloping walkways leading up to it. On the platform stood two men, one Mage and a Warrior. They were both too far away to define their features and the warrior had his back to her, but she could hear their raised voices and knew it wouldn't be wise to interrupt. She walked up one of the slopes and stood quietly a little distance from the two of them.

"What is it now? Haven't Grey Wardens asked enough of the circle?" the mage growled in a deep voice filled with poison.

"I simply came to deliver a message a message from the Reverend mother, Ser mage." The tall warrior replied "She desires your presence."

"Whatever her Reverence 'desires' is of no concern to me!" The mage almost shouted back, his face going a little red "I am busy helping the Grey Wardens; By the king's orders I may add!"

"Should I have asked her to write a note?" the warrior retorted, cool as a cube of ice.

"Tell her" the mage puffed, his face growing redder by the minute "That I will not be harassed in this manner!"

"Yes I was harassing **you**" the warrior said in a slightly sarcastic voice, leaning slightly to one side, balancing his weight on one foot in a totally relaxed stance "By delivering a message?"

"Your glibness does you no credit!" the mage shouted, his voice almost on fire from the cheek of the man's words.

"Here I thought we were getting along so well" The warrior said, his voice thick with sarcasm now "I was even going to name one of my children after you… the **grumpy** one!"

"Enough" the mage said in a voice that only spoke defeat "I will speak with her if I must. Get out of my way fool!"

With these words, the angry mage pushed Cavanna out of the way and marched down the steps, uttering some unrepeatable curses about the Chantry.

"You know" the warrior's calmer voice came from behind Cavanna, but she didn't turn just yet "One good thing about the blight is how it brings everyone together."

Cavanna couldn't help herself, and gave a laugh that forced her to turn and face the man at last. For a few moments, she had to catch her breath before she could nod 'Yes' in agreement.

The man was about half a head taller than her, and she could see that under the simple chainmail armor that he was well built and very muscly, yet his arms underneath the gloves looked to be shaped delicately, so they looked tough, yet gentle. His hair was a light sandy brown colour, and quite short over most of his head except for his fringe, which was longer and gelled upwards into a kind of forward facing point. The effect of it was a powerful one, yet it was somewhat spoiled by a few strands that were loose and hung over his forehead like tiny feathers. The face itself was one that Cavanna could only describe as beautiful. His eyes were like two stars of a light brown colour, and each had a delightfully cheeky gleam in them. His nose was like one on a statue, hard looking but carved to perfection, and it sat perfectly in his oval shaped face. His chin had the same fine chiseled look that Cailin had had; only the Warrior's chin had a small light haired goatee underneath the soft lips, with light stubble going from the chin to halfway across the jawline. Cavanna had to remind herself to blink, and she stretched out her hand, controlling herself to concentrate on what she was meant to do.

"I know exactly what you mean" she grinned, regaining her voice a little "It's almost a cause for celebration!"

"It's like a party!" the sandy warrior said with a glitter in his eye "We could all hold hands and dance in a circle. **That** would give something for the Darkspawn to think about! Wait, we haven't met have we?"

"The name's Cavanna" she said, and the warrior reached out to shake her outstretched hand "I'm Duncan's newest recruit."

"I'm Alistair" the handsome man replied, smiling warmly at her "I thought you might be Duncan's newest, a pleasure to meet you."

Cavanna felt warm all over on hearing those words, and she had to fight the urge to start flirting with him, for that was not why she was here.

"There aren't many women in the Grey Wardens" Alistair remarked, tilting his head a little "I wonder why that is?"

"You mean you want more women in the Grey Wardens" Cavanna giggled a little "You're a little easy to read you know."

"Would that be such a bad thing?" Alistair shrugged "It's not like I'm some drooling lecher or anything. Please stop looking at me like that."

Cavanna purposely was giving him the harsh eye, but she smiled to show it was play.

"I see that Mage was none too pleased to see you" she remarked, remembering the way he had barged right by her in a huff "Was it something you said?"

"I hope not" he replied, a flash of worry crossing his face "The circle of Magi is here at the king's request, and the chantry doesn't like that one bit. They just love letting mages know how unwelcome they are. Which puts me in a bit of a situation; I was once a Templar."

Cavanna was a quite surprised by this, the man didn't look harsh enough to be a Templar, so she said "You were a mage hunter?"

"Not that it's all that Templars do, but yes, I was raised by the Chantry until Duncan recruited me six months ago." Alistair said, a little nostalgically "I'm sure the Revered Mother meant to insult the man by sending me, and he picked right up on that."

"The Chantry?" she said, casually folding her own arms and leaning to one side "Don't mind me saying, but you don't exactly look like the religious type."

"Hah, don't worry, I'm not" the young man said in humor, his stance gradually relaxing "How do I put this, I'm a Bastard; and before you make any smart comments I mean the fatherless kind. My mother died when I was very young, and I was brought up by the Chantry. That's why I ended up training to become a Templar, but I never took my vows."

"Why's that?" Cavanna queried, one hand absent mindedly playing with a lock of her light hair "Seems a shame to do all that work and not become one."

"Well, Duncan found me" Alistair said, shrugging his broad shoulders "He recruited me to the Wardens before I could take them. Good thing too, I never really _wanted_ to become a Templar, but I guess the training is useful."

"How did Duncan find you?" Cavanna said looking at him in perplexed way "Chantry's don't often go around advertising their Templars."

"Would be funny if they did" Alistair grinned naughtily "Imagine it; Tired of lone Apostates turning up in your garden? Well now you can hire a Templar for just 100 gold coins a day! Watch them backslash those blood mages until the sun goes down, ha-ha!"

Alistair realized a little too late that Cavanna was staring at him with an almost disturbed look on her face, but just as he thought he would have to cover up his outburst, she burst into peals of laughter.

"Anyway" the sandy hair warrior continued "Duncan was looking for recruits in the Chantry, and found me instead. He thought the training would be useful fighting Darkspawn. Not too much to say about it, he just took me off, introduced me to the other recruits, did the ritual and here I am."

"Yes about that" Cavanna said straightening up with one hand on her hip, the poorly fitting gloves pinching at the skin "What is involved in the ritual? I've not been told anything yet."

"Neither was I" Alistair said, his face looking a little sorrowful "And I'm afraid I can't tell you much either. The ritual is kept a secret from everyone until it actually comes round to it. It's nothing against you, just the rules I'm afraid."

"Fair enough" Cavanna replied, understanding the irritation of rules "But one more thing Alistair."

The tall warrior looked at her and said "Sure, ask away."

"Who actually _raised_ you in the Chantry?" The young blonde woman asked, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Who raised me?" Alistair answered, putting both hands against his chest in a gesture to himself "Well wild dogs of course! I was raised by fearsome Mabari hounds and slept in their pack every night!"

Cavanna couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her this time. What was it about this man that made her feel so comfortable?

"Come on Alistair" she said, still smiling broadly "Do tell!"

"Alright, but no blurting it around" the man replied, also smiling sunnily "Well, I was raised for the majority of my time in the Chantry in a kind of joint room that all the different sisters used to look after me in. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was bearable... just."

Cavanna nodded calmly thinking on it, and replied "Well, it's better than the Alienage after all."

"Anywhere is" Alistair said shaking his head sadly "those places are terrible, I feel lucky compared to them."

He suddenly looked up to the sky and said "If Duncan sent you to look for me, we'd best get back, don't want to get him angry."

They both set off, with Wuffy quietly following behind, every now and then relieving himself on various tent pegs or signposts.

"So tell me about your past then" Alistair said to the young woman, walking at a steady but swift pace "I've spilled, so your turn right?"

"Fair enough" Cavanna replied "An eye for an eye. Well, for starters you may have heard of my family. I am a Cousland."

"Of Highever?" Alistair said, grinning "Yes I know of your family. I should be calling you my lady then."

"Please don't" Cavanna said, shaking her head firmly "I have no wish to be placed above everyone else simply because of a posh sounding surname. Besides, once I become a Warden, my titles become meaningless, am I right?"

"Sort of" Alistair said "Warden's titles don't get forgotten, but they are treated as equal to their fellow Wardens."

Cavanna looked away sadly for a moment, and she automatically reached down to ruffle the fur behind Wuffy's ears to remind herself he was there.

"Well..." Cavanna started, and she faltered, her voice cracking slightly "... before Duncan brought me here, he rescued me from Highever castle after it was attacked by Arl Howe. Both... both my parents were killed along with the rest of the castle, and even my best friend Rory Gilmore didn't get out with his life."

She took a deep breath and faced Alistair. He had stopped walking and was looking at her with a mixture of horror and sadness in his face, so she stopped too, struggling to hold back the tears.

"I, I didn't know..." the man said with obvious embarrassment for upsetting her "I'm so sorry..."

He reached out a hand and placed it gently on her left shoulder. But in doing this Cavanna flinched in pain, and he withdrew his hand sharply.

"I-I'm sorry" he said, his hands in the air like he was surrendering, but there was no mockery in his eyes, just sympathy.

"No, it's not you" Cavanna said, reaching out her own hand to gently lower his arms "It's just... a remnant of the attack."

She lifted up her metal shoulder guard to reveal the horrendous wound the archer had inflicted on her. It was a deep purple colour and the flesh looked torn and battered. The mages magic had made it much better than it had been and stopped the infection, but it didn't stop Alistair from flinching when he saw it.

"Arrow I'll guess" he said shaking his head "I got one in the thigh when I was sixteen, took forever to heal without a mage."

Cavanna nodded and put her shoulder guard down, wincing a little as the already cooling metal touched the raw flesh.

"We'd better hurry" she said in a serious tone "We haven't much daylight left".

"Of course" Alistair agreed, and gestured ahead of him "Ladies first."

The blonde woman led on with Wuffy sticking close to her right side and Alistair half a step behind them on the left. Duncan saw them approaching and bowed to them in greeting, before stepping aside to reveal two men.

"Alistair, Cavanna, these are the other two recruits who will be accompanying you in their tasks, Daveth and Ser Jory. Daveth, Ser Jory, this is Cavanna, the other recruit and this is Alistair, the newest Grey Warden."

"A pleasure to meet you" the first man said to Cavanna in a 'Mr. Smooth' type voice "I didn't know you were going to be a woman, quite a nice surprise."

Duncan had indicated that this man was the one called Daveth, and Cavanna looked him up and down. He had a tight mess of extremely curly black hair, with a black moustache and small stubble beard. His face was not an unattractive one, but the nose was very thin at the bridge, giving the man a look of undeserving fragileness. Cavanna noticed with a sinking feeling he was eyeing her too, grinning cockily and nodding his head slightly, the twin blades on his back making metallic clanks against each other.

"Very pleased to meet you too Daveth" Cavanna said, smiling a false yet cleverly hidden smile, shaking his hand in the process "It will be good to accompany you today."

Daveth winked as he shook her hand, and Cavanna couldn't help smiling back. She knew the man was blatantly flirting with her, but she didn't feel like flirting back at all.

At Highever, she had made it a great sport to flirt with as many noble's sons as she could; harmless fun she called it, which it was. However, the cloud of grief was still on her mind from a few days ago, and the presence of Alistair and Duncan seemed to sway her from frivolities and back to seriousness. To forget the idea, she turned to the other man, assumingly Ser Jory.

He was a rather well-fed looking man, with a thick neck and a solid looking head. His dark red hair was reseeding, yet he only looked around thirty something which made Cavanna feel a little sorry for him. He didn't shake her hand, but instead bowed to her, so Cavanna did the same. He didn't say much other than "A pleasure" so the blonde female left it at that.

"Now that you are all gathered" Duncan spoke, making the four people and even Wuffy look up "I must tell you about your first task to complete before the joining ritual."

"About time" Daveth said, standing in a totally relaxed stance, as if he did this kind of thing every day "I hate being kept in the dark."

"The first task for all of you to complete is to go into the Kocari Wilds to retrieve 3 vials of Darkspawn blood" Duncan explained, his eyes serious and dark as ever "This blood is a vital part of the joining and cannot be completed without it. However, there is something else you must fetch from the forest."

Alistair seemed a little taken aback by this, like it was the first time he was hearing it.

"These hoards of Darkspawn are evidence to me that a Blight is on our hands" Duncan gravely continued "And the Wardens need as many allies as possible to defeat it. Many years ago, a treaty was signed by the Elves, the Dwarves and the Mages to help the Grey Wardens in times of war, and the time to use these treaties has come. The treaties are hidden in the old Grey Warden cache somewhere in the forest. You recruits will need to retrieve these treaties to aid us in the blight."

Duncan then turned to Alistair and looked at him hard.

"Alistair, you will be accompanying the recruits into the forest to guide them and help them" he told the sandy warrior, without a hint of asking "I trust you to guide them well."

"Of course Duncan" Alistair said, crossing his hands to his shoulders and bowing in the Warden manner "I will not let you down."

"Good" the black haired senior smiled to his Warden, and turned back to the others saying "You must head off as soon as you can; there is much to do and little time to do it in."

"Right then" Ser Jory said, in a voice deep and rich "We'd best be off!"

"I'm with Ser Jory" Daveth piped up, unfolding his arms "The sooner we get to the joining the better."

Cavanna nodded her head and added "Agreed. Can we set off now Alistair?"

"We can go whenever you feel ready" the kind Warden said to her, his face warm and glowing "But I would recommend a few minutes for you all to go to a trader and stock up on poultices and armor, you all look like you need something."

With that, he handed each recruit a sovereign, and was returned by eager thanks. Cavanna walked off first, darting straight to an armorer. She knew exactly what to get, and now the money was burning a hole in her pocket she couldn't wait to slide on her new studded leather armor set, complete with fitted gloves; at long last.


End file.
